Polishing-machine



W. LA HODNY.

POLISHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION man AUG.27, 1917.

Patented July 6, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET l W. LA HODNY.

POLISHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.27, 1912.

Patented J uly 6, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

. supports or legs of the machine being UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM LA HODNY, 0F BUFFALO, NEW YOBK.

POLISHING-MACHINE.

1 Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 6, 1920.

Application filed August 27, 1917. Serial No. 188,274.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, VILLIAM citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New'York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Polishing-Machines, of

which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to. machines for polishing mirrors, glass plates or analogous articles, which have a polishing member which rotates while pressed against the ob-.

ject to be polished.

The objects of the invention are to provide a machine of 'this kind in which the article to be polished and the polishing head revolve relatively to each other in such a manner that all parts of the surface to be chuck; also to improve the construction of machines of this kind in other respects hereinafter specified.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a front elevation of a polishing machine embodying the invention, the partly broken away.

Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view thereofon line 22, Fig. 1. r

Fig. 3 is a side elevation thereof.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary horizontal section thereof on line 4-4:, Fig. 5.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional elevation thereof on an enlarged scale on line 5 5, Fig. 1. r Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional elevation thereof on line 66, Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is atop plan View of a suction head for holding the articles.

Briefly stated, the polishing machineembodying the invention, which is, shown in the drawings, includes I a polishing head which rotates about a fixed axis and a work support or chuck which rotates about an axis eccentric. to the polishing head. The

LA HoDNY, a I

polishing head is preferably so arranged with regard to the work that-the peripheral portions of the polishing head extend slightly over the center of the article to be polished. The polishing head is preferably made of slightly greater diameter than the radius of the article to be polished and revolves in the reverse direction so that the relative movement between the polishing head and the article to bepolished is great and is substantially uniform at all parts of the article. a

The frame of the machine shown in the drawings includes an arc shaped'frame portion or member A' supported on the legs a and having upwardly and inwardly extend ing arms a, the upper ends of which are preferably formed integral with a sleeve a which supports an upright tubular frame member B. This frame member incloses and has bearings for a shaft C for actuating the work support and is also provided with arms I) having bearings 12 in their outer portions for a shaft D' to which the polishing head is connected. The tubular. frame member B is preferably secured in the sleeve of by means of a set screw a j Any suitable means may be employed for driving the two shafts C and D. In the constr'uctionshown, power is transmitted to r the machine by means of a belt E adapted to engage with tight or loose pulleys e ,e' mounted on a shaft 6 which is suitably 'journaled in ajbracket e secured on the tubular frame member B. The shaft 6 is connected with the shaft C by beveled gears e and'e The lower end of the shaft C is provided with a gear f meshing with a gear f secured on a spindle F on which the work supporting head F is mounted.

The spindle F is journaled in a bracket or arm G which is adjusted with regardto the axis of the shaft D. In the construction I shown the bracket or arm G is adjustable about the axis of the shaft C, being for this purpose provided with a split sleeve 9 embracing the lower end of the tubular frame member B. The split sleeve '9' may be clamped in any desired position on the tubular frame member B by the bolt g or other suitable means for holding the bracket or arm G in a fixed position in regard to the frame member B. The arm or bracket G is held against vertical movement by means of a set screw 9 Fig. 4, the inner end of which engages in an annular slot or groove in the periphery of the frame member B. Since the arm G is adjustable about the axis on which the gear f turns, the work supporting head may :be adjusted about the frame member B to any desired position without moving the gears out of mesh, and'by the adjustment of the arm or bracket G relatively to the polishing head the. machine may be readily adapted to operate on articles of different sizes. f represents a guard plate having downwardly extending flanges f which form a housing for the gears and protect the same from grit or dust from the polishinghead as well as sliieldingthe operative from contact with the gears. v

Means of any suitable kind maybe employed for holding the work supporting head, those shown in the construction illus- 'trated including a plate or chuck H havlng an upwardly extending peripheral flange h and a central article supporting portion 72/ forming between therein a suction cavity. Both of the supporting portions are pro vided with pads of rubber or other suitable yielding material. 'The chuck H is connected with the upper end of an upright tube b which extends through the spindle F V I of the work supporting head. The lower 1 shown) The article supporting portion h" of the chuck H is provided with radial slots or passages 7L through which the suction end of this tube terminates in a stufiing box h? which is connected by means of a tube or pipe [L4 with a suction pump or the like (not from the pipe h is transmitted to the suc- .tion cavity in the upper portion of the chuck H. The suction will firmly hold the article I to be polished on the chuck.

'Power is transmitted from the shaft 0 to v the-shaft D of the polishing head inthe construction shown by means of a pulley K securedto the shaft C and connected by means of a belt 70 to a pulley 70' which is rigidly secured'to a'sleeve 71: having a lower flanged portionk bearing against the lower pad of the. upper arm 5 which serves to hold the pulley is against vertical movement. The sleeve 70 is splined tothe shaft D so as to turn the shaft D and permit this shaft to be v moved, up and down with regard to the sleeve le The lower end of the shaft D is provided with a plate or disk Zto which the polishing head L may be yieldably and movably secured by any suitable means, such for example as bolts Z secured to the polishing head L and slidable vertically in the plate or .disk Z, Springs 1 interposed between the plateor disk Z and the polishing head L permit the polishing head to tilt or shift as necessary to bearproperly on. the work and V produce a yielding pressure upon the article to be polished.

Theshaft -D may be moved and down to bring the polishing head into and out of of the work.

engagement with the article by any suitable means. In the construction shown, a hand lever M is employed for this purpose, which is provided at one end with a slot m through which a pin m extends which is secured in bracketsm of the tubular frame member B. Intermediate of its ends, the lever M isprovided with a loop shaped portion which is pivotally connected with a ring m which is rections, thus producing a rapid relative mo tion between the polishing head and the work and causing the machine to polish very rapidly. By arranging'the work eccentrically with regard to the polishing head in V r such a manner that the polishing head extends from approximately the middle portion of the work to the edge thereof,the relative velocities between the contacting parts of the work and polishing headare substantially the same throughout all parts of the work. Consequently, a uniform and'perfeet polishing action is secured at all parts The machine can readily. be adapted for operating on articles of different sizes replacing the pollshing head Land chuck H with a larger or smaller polishing head or chucks and adjusting'the arm with regard to the'axisof the shaft D in such a manner that the polishing head will have the proper eccentric relation with regard to the work regardless of the diameter of the work. 'The article to be polished is placed on the suction chuck while the parts of the machine are at'a standstill. The suctionis then turned on to hold the article securely in place before the rotation of the chuck and polishing head. is started and after the polishing operation has been completed the polishing head and chuck should be stopped before the suction is turned off. In order to accomplish this and insure of the suction being turned on whenever the ma chine is in operation, a valve for controlling both the suction and the operation of the machine is preferably employed. The control lever shown in the drawings for this purpose comprises, a handle N connected with the stem 12 of avalve 'n whichis arrangedin the suction pipe h. The handle has an extension or arm n which is preferably slotted and through which a rod n connected with the belt shifting mechanism extends. The rod n? is provided with knobs of thepulleys e 0. By means of this arrangement the movement of the handle N in one direction will first open the suction valve to apply the suction and then shift the belt E from the loose to the tight pulley.

WVhen actuated in the reverse direction the handle N first shifts the belt E from the tight to the loose pulley and then shuts off the suction. In this way the chuck is stationary when the article is being secured thereon and removed. This prevents the possible cutting of the operatives hands, enables the work to be properly adjusted inthe chuck and prevents the breaking of articles by improper actuation of the machine and makes it possible to have the machine operated by unskilled labor. The ma chine described is primarily intended for polishing flat surfaces, but it is not intended to limit the invention to such use since the same may be employed for grinding or analogous purposes. 1

I claim as my invention 1. The combination of a frame, a rotary polishing member journaled on said frame, a rotary worksupporting member arranged on said frame to turn in a plane substantially parallel with the plane of rotation of the polishing member, and means for adjusting said work supporting members relatively to said polishing member for varying the eccentricity of the work supporting member in regard to said polishing member. 2. The combination of alframe, a polishing head rotatably mounted on said frame, a

'. on said frame, means for rotating said polishing head and said work supporting member in substantially parallel planes in opposite directions, and means for initially ad justing said work supporting member and polishing head relatively to each other to vary the distance between the axes of rotation of said polishing head and work supporting member when changing from one size of work to another.

3. The combination of a frame having a substantially upright member, a polishing head rotatably mounted on said upright member, and a rotary work supporting table arranged at the lower end of said upright member and adjustable laterally in regard to said polishing head for varying the eccentricity of said head and table.

a. The combination of a frame having an upright tubular frame member provided with laterally extending arms, a polishlng member mounted on an upright shaft j ournaled in said arms, a'work supporting table supported from the lower end of said upright member, a driving shaft for said work supporting table extending through said tubular frame member, and means, for adjusting said work supporting table about the axis of said drive shaft.

5. The combination of a frame, a polishing head mounted on said frame and rotatable about a substantially vertical axis, a work supporting memberrotatable in a direction opposite to said polishing head, and an arm adjustably mounted on said frame and supporting said work supporting member, said arm being adjustable to vary the distance between the axis of rotation of said work supporting member and polishing head.

6. The combination of a polishing member, a rotary work supporting member, suction means on said supporting member for holding the work thereon, means for transmitting suction to said rotary member, means for starting and stopping the rotation of said work supporting member, and a connection between said starting and stopping means and said means for transmitting suction to said rotary member for turning off the suction from said supporting member after the supporting member has been stopped and for turning on the suction to said supporting member before said member is started. 7 I

7. The combination'of a rotary polishing head, a work supporting rotary member, suction means on said rotary member for holding the work thereon, means for transmitting simultaneously starting and stopping the rotation of said polishing head and said rotary member, and a connection between said starting and stoppingmeans and said means for transmitting suction to said rotary member adapted to turn off the suction from said rotary member after the rotation of said pol ishing head and said rotary member has been stopped and to turn on the suctionto said rotary member before the rotation of said polishing head and said rotary member s is started.

8. The combination of a'rotary polishing member, a rotary work supporting member, suction means on said supporting member for holding the work thereon, and a device for controlling the applying and shutting off of suction to said supporting .member, said device being provided with means adapted to start the'rotation of said members after the suction has been applied to the support ing member and to stop the members before the suction is broken in said supportlng member.

9. The combination of a polishing head, a rotary work supporting member, suction means on said supporting member for hold suction to said rotary member, means for ing the work thereon, a device for controlling the applying and shutting off of suetion to said supporting member, means for starting and stopping the rotation of said polishing head and said supporting member,

and a connection between said device'a'nd said starting and stopping means.

10. The combination of a polishing member, a rotary work supporting member, sue-- tion means on said supportlng member for holding the work thereon, a valve for controlling the suction m sald supportmg member, means for starting and stopping the ro- 1 suction is turned off "from said supporting member after the same has been stopped.

Witness my hand this 25 dayof August,

WILLIAM LA'HODNY. WVitnesses: 1

' C. W..PARKER,

M. J. PirMAN, 

